


Satellites

by Sapphoria



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Radio, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, First Meetings, M/M, Music, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, Playlist, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Worldbuilding, radio station AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:15:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28642062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphoria/pseuds/Sapphoria
Summary: Shinra Broadcasting, the premier variety music station in Midgar, is definitely taking off. Zack Fair, an upcoming morning radio host, is becoming more comfortable in his new job. So when an even newer rookie steps on the scene, how could he possibly stay away? Yet getting close is difficult when you work opposite shifts. And all you've got is a voice, and some notes.
Relationships: Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Comments: 11
Kudos: 23





	Satellites

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! I'm back with yet another FFVII AU.  
> I'm hoping to have fun with a lighter, more modern AU this time!  
> I have a playlist I will periodically add to/draw from for this fic! Here's the link to the [Spotify Playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2YiW7HFtTFLXmfHmSHx2nK?si=ZbQ-wWE4SVKPoPmBy8222Q)!  
> Anyway, this will be updated pretty irregularly so please bare with me! 
> 
> Also. I don't know how radio stations work in real life :) So I'm working with what I know about podcasting pfft. So please take what I saw with the tiniest grain of salt.  
> No Beta, So please excuse any grammar or spelling errors I may have missed!  
> And lastly, enjoy!!!

_ Hey there Mr. Blue, _

_ We're so pleased to be with you, _

_ Look around see what you do, _

_ Everybody smiles at you. _

* * *

“And we’re back! That was ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ by Electric Light Orchestra to kick off your morning!” An enthusiastic voice hummed into his microphone, checking over his notes on the desk before him as he read his daily housekeeping routine off. 

“If you’re just joining us this lovely day, you’re listening to Fair Weather with me, Zack Fair. Hopefully the  _ best  _ morning show on Midgar’s airwaves! At least you’re stuck in traffic with me, huh? I’ve got lots of good music lined up for this morning! So relax, untense those shoulders because I know you’re tensing ‘em, and buckle in for a kick to your morning.” he finished as he brought the volume up on the next song he had up on the queue and clicked his mic off. 

Zack leaned back in his rolling office chair and yawned loudly as he stretched his arms over his head. He brought a cup he’d had set to the side on his desk to his mouth, still nice and hot from the coffee shop he stopped at on the way in. He wasn’t technically  _ advised  _ to bring coffee into the recording room but eh, Angeal and Lazard couldn’t be  _ too _ mad because he thought ahead! A cup…  _ with a lid. Duh.  _

Zack kicked his feet up on his desk absentmindedly, listening to the peppy, energetic music play through his headphones. He huffed quietly, his head lulling back as he stared up at the ceiling. The soundproofing didn’t appear too interesting, anymore interesting then the day before anyway. He heaved out a long, slow sigh and blew a long piece of his black hair from his face. The little stamp figurine on his desk stood proudly on his computer modem, pencils and pen scattered on the desktop. His eyes drew around the room lazily as he tapped at his jean clad thigh to the beat of the song flirting through his ears. His desk stood at one of three others in the small recording studio, one for each shift and respective host. He spun in his chair slowly, lifting the wire connecting his headphones to his set up each time he turned. 

Zack Fair had started out as an intern, a background man at Shrina Media broadcasting. It had been his dream to be up there with the big shots, spreading positivity and his charismatic personality with the world. Sure, the dream was originally to be a proper musician but the less gigs came in for a solo guitarist, the more it began to dawn on him that that particular dream wasn’t really taking off the way he’d thought it would…

So it had been a downright blessing when Angeal Hewley, host of Midgar’s most popular morning radio show at the time, accepted his application for internship and took him under his wing. 

  
  


Their relationship had been pretty professional at first, only Zack bending over backwards to try and meet expectations and get things done. Make sure the show notes were in order on the desk in the recording room, water bottles were stocked, lunch was bought, the whole nine yards. But over time, the older man had become accustomed to the kid’s enthusiasm and had started to subtly give him advice. Tips and pointers to good recordings, good showmanship, and an honorable mystique. It had meant a lot to him, to know that Angeal had seen his enthusiasm to learn about the industry and get involved. As much as he could, anyway, with such little prior experience besides playing music himself. 

  
  


The young man smiled to himself, eyeing over a particularly new nice framed photo on the wall. The shot was simple, a photograph of him and his mentor, both smiling in front of the studio with Angeal’s hand planted firmly on his shoulder. In Zack’s hands in the photo, was a brand new microphone in a box, a stick-on-bow slapped on top. The day Angeal gave him the mantle of show host. 

_ “I know you have the spark for it. And I’m beginning to realize I'm more suited for making sure things run smoothly behind the scenes, then trying to run a program.” Angeal had assured him, clapping him on the shoulder.  _

_ “If anyone is capable of taking over for me, it’s you.”  _

Zack smiled to himself, drumming his fingers onto his desk as he sat back up and the next song in the queue came on.  _ Nice, Cage the Elephant... _

Outside the large window in the studio to the office on the other side, he could see Angeal and Lazard, the production head and upright boss, typing away at their computers and answering phone calls. They worked in their own strange, silent harmony that Zack had come to admire. The other hosts wouldn’t be in until later in the afternoon so it seemed to be just the three of them holding the fort down. No big deal, easy peasy. 

Pulling himself back up to his desk and situating his playlist on his computer monitor, he smiled as he checked the station’s social media. Positive feedback for the morning music, so far. 

_ Alright… One more day on the docket, _ Zack thought to himself as he dimmed out the ending of the last song and led into the next. He crossed his legs at the ankles under his desk and sighed fondly. Every time he was in the studio, he felt giddy. Like he did something that could possibly brighten someone’s day. Just making one person’s day more enjoyable, then what else was there to it? 

* * *

  
  


“Alright, everybody! Looks like my time is up. It was great to spend the morning with you! Sit tight though, because your afternoon buddy Sephiroth is here to take over in just a second!” Zack grinned widely into the microphone, holding back a snort as the aforementioned afternoon host raised an eyebrow in his direction from his own adjacent desk. 

“Remember to tune back in tomorrow at 6am for another jumpstart to your day and Fair Weather with me, Zack Fair on SLDR.FM, your favorite in Midgar for variety! Catch ya’ later!” He finished as the station's short jingle played and cut to a commercial. 

“... ‘Afternoon buddy?’” Sephiroth intoned, slight amusement in his tone as he straightened up the organized papers on his own desk. 

“What? You keep people company after me, so obviously you’re their afternoon buddy.” Zack snickered, spinning in his friend and coworkers direction in his chair. 

Comparatively, the two day hosts were pretty different from one another. While Zack turned up the easy-going, good time vibes in the morning, Sephiroth took on a more serious, contemplative energy for the afternoon broadcast. Sure, it gave people whiplash if they weren’t expecting it, but the levity and opposite tones of the two shows seemed somehow to complement each other. 

Even in terms of dress to Zack’s more casual T-shirt and jeans, the other host had on a black dress shirt and nicely pressed slacks. 

Of course, then there was Genesis on the overnight broadcast… 

From an outsider perspective, the whole Shinra broadcasting team seemed to be a pretty mismatched group of individuals. Yet somehow, they always made it work. 

“Keeping company, hm? That’s an interesting way to look at the position.” The older man responded curtly, crossing one leg over the other. 

“Anything from the previous shift I should know about?” 

Zack hummed quietly as he gathered his notes and shoved them into the dark canvas backpack he had slouched against his desk. He hoisted it up over his shoulder, picking up his black leather jacket from the back of his chair. 

“The new playlist I made is in your computer so no repeats, or less than usual, and some guy keeps calling in and trying to say drunken swears on air during my contests but he isn’t very subtle. Now that you’re here, I think you can scare him off.” He rattled off the daily occurrences from the morning as he backed toward the door to the studio, empty coffee cup in hand. 

“Oh! And there’s some buzz on our social media for your new magazine cover! Looks great by the way, super ‘touch me, get bent and sex appeal’.” Zack winked jokingly as he backed into the door. He dropped his old cup into the waste bin beside the door and threw a playful salute in his friend’s direction, hand on the doorknob. 

Sephiroth leaned lightly into the front of his desk, arm propped on the smooth wood and held his chin in his palm. He gave a small smile in the dark haired man’s direction yet returned his salute with a nod. 

“Mm, I see. Thank you for the information.” he chuckled quietly, amused by the man’s antics, wild as ever. 

“Oh, so you’ve caught wind of that? I’m surprised they didn’t ask you to be on the cover yet, Fair. You’ve become rather popular as of late.” 

Zack’s mouth dropped open silently before he shook his head and replaced his surprise with light bashfulness. He scratched at the back of his head. 

“Aw come on, man. You’re one of the original voices of SLDR.FM. ‘course they’d wanted you! And I don’t mind too much, I’m still pretty new… it’s kind of intimidating and all.” He shot another wide grin in the other man’s direction before he pushed open the door. He threw a wave over his shoulder. 

“Anywho! Knock ‘em dead and see you tomorrow.” He called as the door clicked shut behind him firmly. 

Taking a deep breath, Zack stretched his arms over his head and grunted as his joint popped. He sighed contently. Sitting around at a desk everyday for seven hours really took it out on a guy’s back sometimes. Through the large window and into the office across the small hallway between the studio and other room, Zack noted his mentor working diligently at his own office space. ‘Lazard must have had a meeting…’ Zack thought absentmindedly. Wandering into the adjacent office, he slowly paced up behind Angeal who remained focused on the paperwork before him, his pen lightly scratching against the page. 

“Ange-!” 

“Hello, Zack.” the older man peered over his shoulder, his eyebrow raised just so. 

“How do you do that every time? You’ve got a sixth sense, I'm telling you.” Zack groaned, walking to lean against the side of the man’s desk. He folded his arms casually, eyes scanning the paperwork lining Angeal’s usually spotless desk. He let out a low whistle. 

“You picking up for Lazard too?” 

The man chuckled lightly and sat up with a small laugh. 

“You aren’t the most subtle person in the studio today.” Angeal joked easily and grunted as he rolled his shoulders, obviously tense from hunching over his work. 

“And no, just attempting to set up some upcoming changes for Genesis. As per usual.” He huffed, albeit a tad fondly. 

Zack snorted and couldn’t help but to smile. He knew Angeal couldn’t say no to his childhood friend ever, even in terms of business. 

“Running you into the ground, huh? He want to do a whole radio show script reading again?” 

At that, Angeal held back an amused chuckle and his shoulders relaxed a touch as he leaned back into his chair. 

“Oh no, not after  _ last _ time,” He straightened up a few papers on his desk. 

“He actually made a rather impressive concession the other night last week to Lazard. He wants to retire from the evening show.” 

Zack blinked and whirled around to face him. 

“Are you serious? But he has a whole niche audience thing going, right? You said that was the point of the overnight show.” 

“He insisted on it, actually. He said he’d like to ‘spread his wings’ into more unfamiliar territory. You know how antsy Genesis gets when he’s too comfortable.” Angeal pinched the bridge of his nose briefly, shaking his head before looking back at Zack with a quiet exhaustion. 

“Lazard took it into consideration and suggested it might be good to have someone genuinely focus on our online article presence anyhow. So i’m just finalizing some things while Lazard and Genesis finish the final interview.” 

Zack drew out another low whistle, leaning over and looking at the paperwork a second time. There were a few manila folders, spread across the desk, various resumes and forms flowed from each. Various notes in red ink were strewn across the pages, probably good and bad points of each interview so far. 

“You guys really work fast, huh? So you’re looking for somebody to take over for Gen?” he tapped his chin thoughtfully. 

“How are we going to find someone as dramatic?” 

Angeal fought to hold a fond smile at bay but he just shook his head. 

“I think they’re trying to go for a new direction this time around. You’ll have to ask Genesis, since he’s having a say in who is hired. I’m fairly certain they’ve made a choice, they’re just wrapping things up.” 

Zack pursed his lips in thought but shrugged. He had assumed Genesis seemed comfortable enough in his eccentric evening program but he honestly couldn’t blame him for wanting to switch things up. The guy had been reading creepy sonnets at 2am for a few years at least, so craving a little change seemed pretty appropriate especially considering his closest friend had also recently stepped down and stepped into a new role within the company. The only one who seemed entirely unmoved and unshakable was, of course, Sephiroth who had a natural talent for blunt, yet alluring listening. Almost like he was born to be the moderation between the dawn and evening shifts. 

Weird how things worked out like that. 

“Hmm.. I’ll bug him about it later. He going to start coming in during the day now? The office is going to get a lot more lively then, huh?” Zack raised an eyebrow teasingly. 

Angeal shook his head fondly and waved him off. 

“You keep the office plenty lively on your own. You definitely don’t have to worry about that.” he chuckled goodheartedly. 

Zack faked shock but broke into another warm grin. He nudged the man’s shoulder lightly. He glanced at the circular clock on the wall above the door. 

“Alright, Alright. I know I’m the life of the party but it’s already 1. So it’s probably about time I head out. Want to grab some lunch with me? Shouldn't you be taking a break soon too?” 

Angeal stroked his chin in thought, leaning back in his chair and surveying his desk of all the contents. They seemed organized and handled enough… He glanced at the clock himself before standing, rolling his shoulders of the tension that had built up in them. 

“I guess it is that time of the day already…” he gave Zack a small smile. 

“You’ve twisted my arm.” 

Zack pumped his fist in success, grinning as he swung his jacket over his shoulder and readjusted his backpack on his shoulder. 

“You know me, plenty persuasive!” he hummed as he walked back over toward the door. 

“Meet me outside in 5, ‘kay? I’m headed to my mailbox before we go.” he called over his shoulder, earning a hum of affirmation from his friend and coworker. 

Walking into the hallway, Zack heard the faint sound of music over the speakers in the recording room even through the soundproofing. He shook his head fondly as he turned down the hall and headed toward the main entrance. The song caught his ears as he passed, glancing in through the window and watching Sephiroth, absentmindedly writing on a notepad, the image of leisure with his long silver hair hanging over his shoulder. 

* * *

_ And now you're punching and you're kicking and you're shouting at me _

_ I'm relying on your common decency _

_ So far, it hasn't surfaced but I'm sure it exists _

_ It just take a while to travel from your head to your fist _

* * *

Zack huffed out a small laugh.  _ Who listened to Depeche Mode at 1pm on a weekday?  _

After taking the stairs down to the first floor and Coming to a stop at a small office by the main entrance front doors of the building, Zack turned into the dimly lit room. A set of locked mail boxes for each employee with little slots for incoming mail on the front of each, fastened against the wall. Fumbling around in his pockets, he finally pulled out the proper key from his key ring and opened his own box which was marked with a primly written ‘Z.F’ on a strip above it. 

Zack opened the door and pulled out the contents, eyeing the sealed envelopes absentmindedly.  _ Paystub, Paystub, Notice of lateness… Boring.  _

Clicking the box shut again, he glanced to the box beside him and blinked. There hadn’t been a name on it before, him being the newest hire at the end of the row of boxes. But the previously empty box beside his now had a neatly written ‘C.S’ over it. He raised an eyebrow. 

_ They hire someone new already?  _ Zack clicked his tongue, thinking for a moment before taking his bag off his shoulder and rummaging around inside. Slipping the backpack under his arm, he pulled out his notebook, ripping a page out and folding it over halfway. Something about the idea of knowing someone who might understand how it felt to be the newbie seemed appealing… 

Pulling the cap of his pen off with his teeth, he pressed the paper into the wall and scribbled onto the page. 

**_“Welcome aboard, rookie! I’m pretty new too, so don’t worry, you aren’t alone!_ **

**_Hang in there! -Z.F_ **

**_  
_ _P.S. Please, PLEASE, don’t play any country!”_ **

Once his message was written out and finished with a tiny smiley face at the bottom of the page, Zack slipped the piece of paper into the mailbox labeled with the new name. Either he had just made a fool of himself, or maybe the new person would think it was funny. Who could say.  _ Worth a shot. Maybe they’ll be cool.  _

Emerging from the mailroom, Zack noticed the meeting room across the hall occupied, spotting familiar auburn hair and a keen, interested smirk on the man’s face. Another man with Slicked back blonde hair beside him and a pinstripe suit.  _ Ooh, so that’s where Lazard and Genesis had been.  _ He thought with a light chuckle, noting the way Lazard was pinching the bridge of his noise as he said something, yet the door blocked out any sounds from their meeting. 

He couldn’t help but be curious. Taking another step forward toward the meeting room, he strained his ears to maybe hear  _ anything  _ about this new person, someone newer than him— 

“Zack, there you are. Sorry about that. Just finished sorting everything that needed to be handled. Ready to head out?” Angeal’s voice pulled him back to the present and he flushed lightly, feeling as if he’d been caught poking his nose where it didn’t belong. 

The young man let out an awkward laugh, scratching the back of his head. 

“Me? Yep! Good to go!” he insisted, spinning on his heel toward the glass double doors to the outside. 

“Where you feeling, ‘geal? If we go to that vegan cafe place down the street, we have to remember to get Gen that gross mushy drink he likes.” He mused, pushing open the large doors and holding it open for his friend. 

“You mean the kombucha?” Angeal raised an eyebrow to which Zack snapped his fingers, turning around once they were outside to look back at his friend. 

“Yeah. That thing. Smoothies are way better—” his words slowed momentarily, catching the tail end of Genesis and Lazard guiding someone, walking down the hallway in the opposite direction to the doors. He vaguely registered a shock of blonde and small frame but the group turned down a different corridor and disappeared from sight. 

Zack shook his head back to the present, swallowing and averting his eyes. He crossed his arm behind his head as they walked up the sidewalk. 

Angeal silently raised his eyebrow at his younger friend but shrugged it off, simply curious as usual to his upbeat behavior. 

The light hum of the city rang in their ears. The honking of cars and chatter on the street from passersby. It was its own kind of music, in a way. 

Zack glanced back toward the studio, watching the entrance made back in view the further up the street they strolled. Somehow, he felt excited. Change always seemed… weird. But Zack always tried his best to embrace it with open arms as it came to him. He smiled to himself. 

Life was never dull, _never for a second._

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Any feedback and comments are all greatly appreciated! 
> 
> Stay tuned for more!


End file.
